This Could Be The Last Time
by The Girly Man
Summary: It was only a dance... one dance. But what frightened her about it was the dread that it would turn into something more...


**HERE IT IS. QUITE POSSIBLY MY SECOND FAVORITE ONE-SHOT I EVER WROTE.**

**My very favorite is coming on Valentine's Day. XD**

**I'm posting this on American New Year's, even though my intent was to post it on Chinese New Year. But I couldn't wait that long. **

**Also, I don't know if the horse and the cow would ever end up dancing at the banquet. I made that up, so don't freak out on me. Since next year is the year of the boar and everything.**

**Last story of 2006!!!**

**Happy New Year!**

**Lyrics: 11:11 PM – The All-American Rejects

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**This Could Be The Last Time**

_**All the windows swear to miss you**_

_**And the doors are cell-block tight**_

_**Sweet sedation**_

_**Sweep the issues**_

_**And the clock's about to strike**_

"Here she is!"

Rin rolled her eyes as she slowly drifted down the long flight of stairs, her stomach giving a lurch when she realized that along with Kagura and her mother, Hatsuharu was watching her from the front door. She lifted the bottom of her dress with her right hand and held firmly onto the stair rail with her other as she began her descent down the steps. Why did he have to be there too, to make her look stupid and nervous?

"You look so pretty, Rin!" Kagura exclaimed as she met the breathless girl at the foot of the stairs.

Hatsuharu said nothing, admiring her from the door. Her black and purple dress fit her perfectly, her hair was dressed with barrettes and clips, and more care had been taken in applying her make-up than usual. He knew Rin didn't care at all about the banquet. Somehow, he got the feeling that Rin was trying to impress him.

"Isn't this exciting?" Kagura's mom bubbled with excitement while she fussed with a loose strand of Rin's ravenous hair. "The ox and the horse, dancing together at the banquet!"

Rin glanced at Haru, who was staring at her with an adorable smirk on his face. It was the year the ox and the horse were to do the ceremonial dance for the zodiac, and Rin told herself she wasn't the least bit thrilled. It meant the whole zodiac family would have to see them together. It meant Akito would see them together. And though it made her ecstatic to have the chance to be close to him… she feared that if Hatsuharu got carried away and did something stupid, it would be hell for her to pay…

Kagura nudged Rin as her and her mother left the room, and Rin only glared at the back of the boar's head. She knew what Kagura wanted her to do, but there was absolutely no way that her mouth would come in contact with his that night.

"Hello… Hatsuharu," she mumbled softly as he walked toward her. Before she knew what he was doing, she had ended up allowing him to gently push her back until she was parallel to the ground and the only thing keeping her from falling was his arm across her back. He leaned over her, still smirking, and whispered, "Hello, beautiful."

_**Did it call you down?**_

_**Are you back just yet?**_

_**Waiting now **_

_**Please come set me free**_

_**And the only sound is a minute left…**_

_**This could be…**_

_**This could be the last time**_

"Nice try," she whispered back, placing a finger over his approaching lips and standing up straight again.

"Come on, Rinny. Don't be so bitter tonight, okay?" he asked, pleading with his gray eyes.

She stopped smoothing out the crinkles across the front of her dress and stepped up to him, fingering his neck slowly. "Tell you what," she purred, afraid that if she stared into his eyes she would get lost and never be able to find her way back. "You stop trying to get intimate with me and I'll think about it."

"Aww… but why?" he whispered, kissing her ear and tightening his arms around her back.

"I swear to god, Haru," she gasped as she pulled away from him reluctantly. "If you even _think_ about kissing_ any_ part of me, I _will_ kill you."

"But—"

"Okay guys, let's go!" Kagura came bounding into the room, and realizing she was standing much too close to Haru to have just been saying 'hello', Rin stepped away and tripped on the stairs behind her.

"Rin! Are you okay?" Kagura asked as Haru took her thin hands in his tough ones to help her up.

"Don't touch me," she hissed at him as she brushed passed him and stormed out the door. _Tonight is really going to suck._

_**It's a chance to fix mistakes**_

_**One more for the last time**_

_**Don't you throw our dreams away**_

_**Don't waste this chance with your smile**_

_**Ten seconds left on this dial**_

_**This could be the last time**_

Rin stayed mute through everyone's greetings, only smiling and nodding when she _had_ to. She stood in the corner of the banquet hall, as far away from Hatsuharu as possible. She was watching him, though, smiling on the inside whenever he showed one of his rare smiles or laughed.

As much as she hated to admit it, she was absolutely attracted to him. But she was terrified of this ten-minute dance. She was so nervous that it felt like her insides were grinding into dust and razors were cutting through her stomach over and over again. What she hated even more was the feeling of wanting… _needing,_ even… when he leaned over her and said she was beautiful, how terribly she had wanted to connect their lips, to melt together until they were both nothing. She loved that feeling, hated herself for pulling away. She told herself she had to. And with that thought, she could barely breathe, and quietly slipped onto the veranda to get some fresh air alone.

She guessed it was very, very early in the morning because although it was dark, she really could see a light emerging on the horizon.

_My New Year's wish…_ she though, shutting her eyes and folding her hands. _I wish there was an easier way for us to be happy. I know it's selfish, but I want to be with him. I want him. I want us to be happy…_

"Rin," a voice called to her from the doorway. Her eyes opened but she didn't turn around. It was Haru. "Come on, the dance is starting."

_**Along the staircase**_

_**I dream to hear you**_

_**In a whisper-quiet room**_

_**Space for thinking**_

_**Space to scream to**_

_**But the echoes sound like you**_

"This shall be interesting," Akito snickered as Rin brushed passed him, joining Hatsuharu in the center of the room. She had refused to practice with him, and now she wondered if that had been a wise choice.

"Ready?" Haru whispered as he placed his hands on her, one on her waist and one in her hand. She nodded as she rested her hand on his shoulder and laced her fingers through his.

"As I'll ever be," she whispered back, and they began to move.

"You know," he said through his teeth as she spun around him, their hands still connected. "You really do… look really pretty tonight."

"Thank you," she mumbled as he brought her to his chest and they stared into each other's eyes for a long time until they realized the music was still playing. That was the compliment she had wanted to receive… the reason she had put so much care into her preparation… and all she could say back was 'thank you'…

"I've been thinking," he began again, a few minutes later. "This… _dating_ thing… maybe we could try that again."

"Why would we do that?" she tried to snap, but only ended up saying it half-heartedly.

"Because… well… I'm not really… _over _you," he said as he held her up by his arm and leaned over her like he had back at Kagura's house.

Her face burned in embarrassment. _Over_ her? So did that mean he still thought about her too? "Literally or figuratively?" she hissed, trying to ignore the impulse she had to grab him and kiss him, and finding it rather hard.

"Figuratively," he responded, pulling her up again as the dance went on. "I love you too much, Rin."

_**Not the stars at night**_

_**In a pitch black sky**_

_**I don't know just wants to see you**_

_**But the time is right**_

_**And it only flies…**_

_**This could be…**_

_**This could be the last time**_

She stumbled but he caught her, the look in his eyes so sincere that she wanted to cry. Sure, he had said it before, but it seemed like relief that after everything they had been through, he still felt the same.

"It's almost time," Hatori announced, and the entire zodiac filed onto the veranda to watch the first sunrise. All but Rin and Haru, who were to continue dancing until the sun was completely risen.

"I _want_ you, Rin," Haru whispered as he held her tightly, moving back and forth in time to the music. "I _need_ you."

He was kissing her cheek, moving to her neck when she pushed him away, throwing off the dance though nobody could tell because they were no longer in the room. "No," she gasped despite the happiness she had felt in those kisses. "Please, Haru, don't you get it?"

"Rin…" he breathed in her ear. "I can't change how I feel about you."

"I know!" she exclaimed a little too loudly, spinning around him slowly. He brought her into his arms and held her tightly as they stared into each other's eyes again. Rin opened her mouth, nearly dying inside, and mumbled, "Haru, you're suffocating me."

Haru froze. "I… I…" he stuttered, letting go of her slightly. "I'm so… sorry," he whispered, feeling his eyes stinging. How could he not have realized the pain he was causing her? How could he have been so stupid?

"I… I mean…" Rin choked. She hadn't meant to tell him that. "H-Haru… I love you," she told him as somebody yelled that the sun would be up in less than one minute. "But… we just can't be together."

_**It's only us**_

_**It's only now**_

_**This simple wish**_

_**It's so late tonight**_

_**This could be the last time**_

"Okay," he nodded, regret added to the pain in his stomach. "…I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Rin sighed. "I think… this is the last time I'm going to allow myself to see you for a while," Rin told him, leaning her head on his shoulder. Haru pressed his lips against her neck, breathing in her beautiful scent.

"I understand," he whispered. Rin shivered as his warm breath hit her freezing neck.

"_Ten!"_

"Do you want to know my New Year's wish, Rin?" he whispered as he pulled her closer to him, their forehead touching as they swayed slightly.

"_Nine!"_

"Hmm?" she blushed, remembering her own.

"_Eight!"_

"Rin… I wish… that you'll let me kiss you as the New Year comes."

"_Seven!"_

"Haru! I just…"

"And then I'll leave you alone."

As the zodiac chanted _"Four!"_, Rin found her voice. "I don't want you to leave me alone, Haru."

"_Three!"_

"Then kiss me, Rin. Just one last time. Just forget everyone else. Forget everything that's ever happened. One more time, Rin, _please_."

"_Two!"_

"I love you, Haru," she whispered with a smirk as she made her decision.

"_One…!"_

_**Now we've made our last mistake**_

_**One more for the last time**_

_**Don't you throw our dreams away**_

_**Don't waste this chance with your smile**_

_**Ten seconds left on this dial**_

_**This could be the last time**_

The family gave a cheer as the warmth of the New Year's sun spread across the sky. They turned around and Akito was about to address them all, as was routine, before an 'Aww…' went through the crowd.

Haru and Rin seemed to be connected everywhere, a thrill of goosebumps going through them both. Rin's eyes were only half closed as she felt his soft lips against her face. She saw the smiles of everyone in the crowd, but stopped and froze when she saw the hurt expression on Akito's face. She was about to pull away, but the warmth of his touch was so inviting that she found herself kissing back.

"Oushi! Uma!" Akito yelled through angry eyes. The room fell numb.

"Ignore them," Haru mumbled, rubbing her back as her lips formed into a smile and their tongues brushed. "It's only us," he leaned into her as she blushed furiously.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Akito jump forward, but Shigure and Hatori held him back in time. She didn't stop kissing him though, until the love pouring out him became too much and she crumbled to the floor.

"Are you okay?" Haru laughed, kneeling next to her.

She smiled, placing her hand on the back of his neck. "Some dance that was," she laughed, before pulling his mouth onto hers again.

_**It's only us**_

_**It's only now**_

_**It's so late tonight.**_


End file.
